M A I N   N E W S

beijing Diary
India, China release encyclopedia of cultural contacts
By Dinesh Kumar

On the sidelines of their bilateral meetings, Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari and Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao released a path-breaking Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts in both English and Chinese in Beijing on June 30. Featuring over 700 entries, the encyclopedia encapsulates the rich history of contacts and exchanges between the two countries in trade, economic, literacy, cultural and philosophical spheres. The tedious exercise, which took three years to complete, was undertaken by a Joint Compilation Committee comprising officials and scholars from both sides. The Indian side comprised Professor Sabaree Mitra of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Professor Madhavi Thampi of Delhi University and Professor Kamal Sheel of Benaras Hindu University. While the contents of the Chinese and English versions are the same, the Chinese version was released in a single volume and the English version in two volumes.

NRIs’ date with Ansari 

During his visit, the Vice-President attended a dinner reception hosted by India’s Ambasador to China Ashok K Kantha and his wife at the Raffles Hotel, located close to Tiananmen Square, where the official delegation was staying. The invitees comprised a considerable number of Indians residing in Beijing including businessmen and academicians. The NRI population in Beijing is estimated at about 20,000 with about 10,000 of them students. In all, there is an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 NRI’s residing across China. Addressing the NRI community Vice President Ansari remarked there is a ‘wise way” of addressing disputes and an ‘unwise way’. ‘We believe in taking the wise way’, he said alluding to the ongoing border dispute with China. 

A special performance

Ansari’s visit coincided with the visit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi as part of the ‘Glimpses of India Festival’ held in Beijing from June 27 to 30. At a special banquet hosted by the Chinese for the Vice President and the visiting Myanmar President Thein Sein at the well known Great Hall of the People located in the heart of the city, the troupe from the Sangeet Natak Akademi performed a dance drama called ‘Saptakam: A Septet of Indian Dance’, a choreography which unites seven different forms of Indian dance which has grown out of a hymn in the Atharva Veda. 

Airport snafu

Just how difficult the Chinese can be was witnessed by the media team accompanying the Vice-President. The media team reached the imposing specially built terminal for visiting heads of states and other dignitaries in a quiet corner of Beijing’s international airport far away from the passenger terminal well in time. But they were in for a surprise when they entered the building. The security officials refused to permit the media personnel and even the accompanying Indian Foreign Service officers of the External Publicity (XP) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs to scan the baggage saying they would not do so since the media was not displaying lapel pins handed by the Chinese security.

Now the fact was that no such lapel pins had been handed to the media and the accompanying XP Division officials although all other member of the official delegation had been given such lapels by the Chinese security on arrival in Xi’an. The media had been handed four special passes by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese security guards, almost all of them women, stood ramrod straight, expressionless and unmoved to pleas made by the Chinese speaking Indian Embassy officials who did their best to explain the situation. After more than 20 minutes of wait which witnessed several phone calls and seemingly endless haggling, the security officials relented and carried out the security checks.

But the matter did not end there. The next hurdle came at the exit door of the building where a lone Chinese woman official refused to open the door to allow the media team to board the special buses waiting to transport them to the waiting Air India Boeing 747 parked a short distance away. 

Once again, the Chinese were unmoved to all pleas and explanations. An impatient and anxious Air India lady official, who could speak Chinese, began loudly expressed her indignation in English to the Chinese woman saying that such delay in boarding was unacceptable for a VVIP flight. Another 10 odd minutes passed before the Chinese relented. India never looked so far for that half an hour.